arlg 


to 


A  PAPER  READ  BEFORE   THE 


^Cistorical 


BY 


JAMES  PHINNEY  BAXTER,  A.  M 


PROVIDENCE  I 

PRINTED    FOR    THE    SOCIETY. 
1889. 


10 


A    PAPER    RKAD    15  WORK    THE 


-Societ 


IAMES  PHINNHY  BAXTER,  A.  M 

•.' 


PROVIDENCE  I 

PRINTED    FOR    THE    SOCIETY 
1889. 


PRESS   OF    C.    H.    BUFFINGTON, 
TAUNTON,    MASS, 


NOTE  FROM  THE  SOCIETY. 


This    valuable    monograph   on    American    history    was    read    by 

Mr.     Baxter,     at    a     meeting    of    the     Rhode    Island     Historical    So- 

i 
ciety.     held     in    its     Cabinet,     March    (>.     1888,     when   its    author,   a 

corresponding  member  of  the  Society,  received,  on  motion  of  the 
Hon.  Royal  C.  Taft  seconded  by  the  Rev.  S.  L.  Caldwell,  D.  D., 
a  unanimous  vote  of  thanks  for  his  elaborate  and  scholarly 
paper.  The  branch  of  the  subject  relating  to  the  voyages  of 
the  Northmen  awakened  much  interest  among  members  of  the  Society 
half  a  century  ago,  and  the  general  interest  therein  is  illustrated  by 
works  published  by  the  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries  at  Copen 
hagen,  which,  though  on  the  shelves  of  our  library,  are  practically 
beyond  the  reach  of  most  of  our  members,  being  in  a  foreign  language 
with  which  they  are  not  familiar. 


291949 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  following  account. of  Early  Voyages  to  America  was 
prepared  in  order  to  place  before  an  audience  in  a  somewhat 
popular  form,  a  subject  requiring  for  its  proper  exposition, 
much  larger  space  and  more  critical  treatment. 

This  statement  should  disarm  the  criticism  of  scholars, 
and  explain  to  those  who  have  made  an  exhaustive  study*  of 
the  various  phases  of  the  subject,  and  to  whom  nothing  that 
I  am  able  to  present  can  be  novel,  the  raison  d'etre  of  this 
publication,  made  by  friends,  who  have  thought  it  of  sufficient 
interest  to  be  put  in  type. 

Novelty  in  the  method  of  identifying  places  described  in 
the  Sagas  is  disclaimed,  and  the  casual  reader  is  reminded 
that  this  branch  of  the  subject  is  purely  conjectural;  at  the 
•same  time,  the  accuracy  with  which  the  Sagas  describe  local 
ities  about  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Rhode  Island,  Nantucket, 
Cape  Cod  and  Massachusetts  Bay,  is  so  remarkable  as  to  be 
entitled  to  most  careful  consideration. 

JAMES  PHIXXKY  BAXTER. 
Portland,  August,   1889. 


EARLY    VOYAGES    TO    AMERICA. 


READ    KEKORE    THE 

RHODE   ISLAND   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY, 

BY 

JAMES  PHINNEY  BAXTER. 


The  history  of  this  Continent  prior  to  its  discovery  by 
Europeans  is  veiled  in  mystery.  There  are  many  dim  al 
lusions  of  voyages  made  to  it  by  adventurers,  to  be  found  in 
ancient  writings,  but  nothing  of  a  strictly  definite  nature 
prior  to  the  fifteenth  century  ;  for  hitherto,  the  great  ocean 
which  beat  upon  the  western  shores  of  Europe,  bore  appro 
priately  the  title  of  the  Sea  of  Darkness,  on  account  of  the 
absence  of  knowledge  respecting  it  by  the  civilized  World. 

Speculations  too  chimerical  to  be  profitably  considered, 
have  been  indulged  in  by  fanciful  writers  respecting  the 
colonization  of  our  Continent.  Athanasias  Kircher  has  given 
the  Egyptians  the  credit  of  colonizing  it,1  basing  his  argu 
ment  upon  the  religious  worship  found  here  ;  while  Edward 
Hrerewood  contends  upon  linguistic  grounds,  that  the  Tartars 
are  entitled  to  that  credit  ;-  and  Marc  Eescarbot,  with  a  faith 


6  RHODE     ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

almost  enviable,  strives  to  show,  that  the  Canaanites,  driven 
out  by  Joshua,  emigrated  hither  ;  that  Noah  was  a  native  of 
this  country,  and  was  borne  back  to  his  ancestral  home  by 
the  flood/1 

The  first  really  serious  attempt,  however,  to  trace  geo 
graphically  a  voyage  to  this  Continent,  has  been  made  by 
De  Guignes,4  who,  basing  his  arguments  upon  the  historian 
Li  Yen,  contends  that  the  Chinese  reached  our  western 
shores  from  Asia  in  the  seventh  century.  This  view  has 
been  considered  of  sufficient  importance  to  engage  the  atten 
tion  of  several  able  writers,  who  have  opposed  it  with  vary 
ing  degrees  of  ability/'1  That  this  Continent  was  inhabited  in 
prehistoric  times  by  a  race  of  men  of  a  very  different  type 
from  the  red  men  whom  our  forefathers  found  here  is  evi 
dent  from  the  remarkable  remains  which  are  found  so 
abundantly  throughout  the  West. 

Of  these  earth  works  particularly,  many  are  of  such 
remarkable  extent  as  to  strike  the  beholder  with 
wonder.  Those  at  Marietta,  in  Ohio,  cover  an  area 
of  three -fourths  of  a  mile  in  length  by  half  a  mile 
in  breadth,  and  consist  of  two  immense  squares,  one 
containing  fifty,  and  the  other  twenty-seven  acres,  the 
walls  of  the  larger  being  nearly  six  feet  in  height 
and  more  than  twenty  feet  broad  at  the  base.  Near  by  is 
an  elliptical  structure  thirty-five  feet  high. enclosed  by  a  cir 
cular  wall.  Within  the  larger  enclosure  are  four  truncated 
pyramids  ;  three  being  approached  by  graded  passage  ways 
to  their  summits,  and  from  the  south  wall  runs  a  graded  way 
to  the  Muskingum  valley  six  hundred  feet  in  length  by  over 


KARLY     VOYAGES    TO    AMERICA. 


one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  breadth.  So  thick  were  similar 
works  where  the  City  of  St.  Louis  now  stands  that  it  was 
called  Mound  City.  A  group  between  Alton  and  St.  Louis 
contained  as  many  as  sixty  structures/1 

One  of  these  works  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram, 
ninety  feet  in  height,  with  sides  at  the  base  respectively  seven 
hundred  and  five  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  a  terrace  on  the 
Southwest  one  hundred  and  sixty  by  three  hundred  feet,  was 
reached  by  a  graded  way,  the  summit  being  truncated  and 
affording  a  platform  two  hundred  by  four  hundred  and  fifty 
feet.  Upon  this  platform  was  a  small  mound  about  ten  feet 
high,  containing  human  bones,  vases,  and  stone  implements. 

It  is  supposed  that  a  temple  once  stood  on  the  platform, 
and  that  the  rites  of  the  priests  could  be  beheld  by  the  mul 
titudes  below.  In  many  of  the  mounds  have  been  found  cists 
covered  with  slabs  of  limestone,  enclosing  skeletons,  and  often 
at  the  head  of  the  skeletons  beautiful  specimens  of  pottery, 
statuettes,  urns  and  drinking  vessels. 

Isle  Royal  and  the  Northern  shores  of  Lake  Superior 
are  the  Northwestern  limits  where  these  works  of  a  lost 
people  are  found.  A  recent  writer  says,  7that  "the  Mound 
builders  were  in  the  distinctive  character  of  their  structures, 
as  marked  a  people  as  the  Pelasgi,  whose  prehistoric  works 
can  yet  be  traced  throughout  Greece  and  Italy.  These 
Pelasgi  were  the  Wall  Builders,  for  wherever  they  went 
they  threw  up  fortifications  made  of  polygonal  blocks.  So 
we  can  trace  the  Mound  builders  by  their  structures  from 


8  RHOPK     ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

the  shores  of  the    great     lakes  to  the.  milder    regions    of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  and  Central  America." 

Besides  articles  of  pottery  often  of  elegant  designs, 
there  are  found  in  the  mounds  remains  of  textile  fabrics. 
The  Indians  found  here  by  the  early  voyagers  did  not  possess 
such  articles,  nor  were  they  capable  of  erecting  such  works  ; 
but  if  any  farther  proofs  were  wanting  that  they  were  not  the 
builders  of  these  mounds,  it  would  be  found  in  the  character 
of  the  skulls  found  in  them,  which  craniologists  declare  are 
entirely  unlike  those  of  the  red  men  ;  but  whence  these  peo 
ple  came,  or  to  what  race  they  belonged,  is  at  present 
unknown. 

To  attempt  to  unravel  these  mysteries  is  not  our  pres 
ent  purpose,  nor  to  indulge  in  speculations  regarding  them, 
which  have  already  been  too  abundant.  We  have  called  at 
tention  briefly  to  the  claims  of  Kircher,  Brerewood,  Lescar- 
bot,  and  De  Guignes,  respecting  the  first  voyagers  hither 
from  the  eastern  hemisphere,  and  we  now  come  to  another 
claim  in  favor  of  a  Scandinavian  occupation  of  our  eastern 
shores  as  early  as  the  latter  part  of  the  tenth  century. 

The  first  allusion  to  this  subject  was  made  in  the  eccle 
siastical  history  of  Adam  von  Bremen,  written  previous  to 
the  year  1073.'"  Karly  in  the  thirteenth  century  the 
Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Norway  were  written,"  when 
it  was  again  alluded  to.  It  was  not,  however,  until  1705, 
that  Thormodus  Torfeus  treated  the  subject  particu 
larly  ;10  yet  it  failed  to  attract  attention  until  about  fifty 
years  ago,  when  historical  students  began  to  study  it. 


KAKLY     VOYACiKS    TO     AMERICA.  9 

About  this  time  the  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Anti 
quaries  began  its  investigations  of  old  manuscripts  which 
might  throw  light  upon  history  and  antiquities.  Among 
these  manuscripts  were  certain  Sagas  containing  accounts 

of  voyages    made  to  a    western    land,   called    Vinlancl. 

X  Do. 
The  Saga  grew  out  of  a  desire  to  perpetuate  the  memory 

of  great  achievements,  and  was  at  first  oral.  That  they 
might  run  smoothly  and  be  more  readily  committed  to  mem 
ory,  many  were  turned  into  poetic  measure  by  Saga-men. 

These  Saga-men  were  the  literati  of  their  time,  and 
were  trained  to  relate  accurately  and  in  an  attractive  manner, 
the  traditional  history  of  the  past.  The  events  related  in 
the  Sagas  with  which  we  have  to  do,  took  place  mostly  dur 
ing  the  early  part  of  the  eleventh  century  ;  but  written  lan 
guage  had  not  been  introduced  into  Iceland  until  about  the 
middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  or  about  a  century  and  a  half 
after  these  events  took  place.  It  was  so  difficult,  however, 
to  obtain  prepared  skins,  and  the  process  of  writing  was  so 
slow  and  costly,  that  not  many  Sagas  were  written  out  until 
the  thirteenth  century.  These  written  Sagas  were  subse 
quently  collected  and  placed  in  the  libraries  of  Copenhagen 
and  Stockholm. 

A  great  variety  of  subjects  are  treated  in  these  Sagas, 
which  comprise  poems,  stories,  memoirs  and  historical  narra 
tives  ;  but  it  is  as  easy  to  distinguish  history  from  fiction  in 
these  ancient  works  as  it  is  in  modern  ones. 

Of  course,  in  the  Sagas  occasionally  occur  statements  of 
a  somewhat  marvelous  nature,  but  not  more  so  than  in  the 


IO  RHODE     ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

accounts  of  voyages  of  a  much  later  date,  which  are  regarded  as 
history  ;  indeed,  for  the  most  part,  the  narratives  are  given  in 
such  a  simple  and  natural  manner,  and  with  such  an  appar 
ent  regard  for  strict  accuracy,  as  to  commend  themselves 
to  the  reader.  The  most  minute  incidents  are  carefully 
related,  and  events  based  upon  mere  hearsay  are  given  as 
such.11 

At  first  the  claims  of  the  Swedish  Antiquaries  met  with 
vigorous  opposition.  Their  opponents  contended  in  some 
cases,  that  there  should  have  been  found  well  defined  re 
mains  of  a  Scandinavian  occupation  if  there  had  been  one, 
and  even  appealed  to  the  works  of  the  mound  builders  as  ex 
amples  to  show  that  the  inhabitants  of  a  country,  if  they 
become  extinct,  leave  behind  them  works  to  bear  witness  to 
their  former  existence. 

This  argument,  however,  lacked  force,  since  the  Scan 
dinavians  were  not  in  the  habit  of  building  earth  works, 
—the  most  permanent  under  certain  conditions  of  the  works 
of  man, — and  as  it  is  not  claimed  that  they  ever  made  any 
considerable  settlements  here,  it  is  hardly  to  be  supposed, 
that  such  structures  as  they  would  have  been  likely  to  erect, 
would  survive  the  destroying  energy  of  three  centuries,  amid 
a  barbarous  and  destructive  people. 

We  know  that  the  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Sagadahoc  by  the  Popham  Colonists,  which  consisted  of  a 
fort  and  fifty  habitations,  wholly  disappeared  within  a  cen 
tury ;  as  well  as  Christopher  Level's  strong  house  in  Port 
land  Harbor,  and  other  similar  structures  in  New  England. 


EARLY  VOYAGES  TO  AMERICA.  II 

>.  Ik 

But  the  enthusiastic  advocates  of  a  Scandinavian 
occupancy  of  the  American  Continent  were  looking 
about  them  for  such  evidences  as  their  opponents 
required  to  satisfy  their  doubt,  and  the  first  object  which 
•engaged  their  attention  was  the  old  tower  at  Newport, 

*s 


"My  Stone  built  Windmill"— in  will  of  Gov.  Arnold,  Newport,  R.  I. 

which  so  well  represents  the  mode  of  building  by  the  Norse 
people  of  about  the  twelfth  century,  and  concerning  the  origin 
of  which  no  satisfactory  explanation  existed  until  recently  ; 


12 


RHODE     ISLAND      HISTORICAL    SOCIETY, 


but  we  now  know  that  it  was  built  by  Governor  Benedict 
Arnold,  about  the  year  I6/6,1-  and  was  copied  from  a 
similar  structure  still  standing  in  his  native  town  in  England. 


Mill  at  the  early  home  of  fiov.  Benedict  Arnold,  Chesterton,  England. 

This  was  followed  by  the  discovery,  near  Fall  River,, 
of  the  skeleton  of  a  man,  who  had  apparently  been 
buried  in  armor.  A  part  of  the  breast-plate  found  witlj 
this  skeleton  was  at  once  forwarded  for  analysis  to 
Herzelius,  the  noted  Swedish  chemist.  Herzelius  pro- 


EARLY  VOYAOES  TO  AMERICA.  13 

nounced  it  to  be  similar  to  Northern  armor  of  the  tenth 
century,  and  his  analysis  showed  it  to  be  composed 
of  zinc,  copper,  lead,  tin  and  iron,  a  composition  nearly 
identical  with  that  of  the  bronze  of  that  period. 

Attention  was  also  directed  to  the  body  which  the  Pil 
grims  dug  up  shortly  after  their  landing,  which  is  spoken  of 
by  Bradford,  and  is  also  to  be  found  in  Mourts'  Relation.13 

"The  next  morning  we  followed  certain  beaten  pathes 
and  tracts  of  the  Indians  into  the  woods, — as  we  came  into 
the  plaine  ground  we  found  a  place  like  a  grave,  but  it  was 
much  bigger  and  longer  than  any  we  had  yet  seen.  It  was 
also  covered,  with  boards,  so  as  we  mused  what  it  should  be, 
and  resolved  to  digge  it  up,  where  we  found,  first  a  Matt  and 
under  that  a  faire  Bow,  and  then  another  Matt,  and  under 
that  a  boord  about  three  quarters  long,  finely  carved  and 
paynted,  with  three  tynes  or  brooches  on  the  top  like  a 
Crowne  ;  also,  between  the  Matts  we  found  Boules,  Trayes, 
Dishes  and  such  like  Trinkets  ;  at  length  we  came  to  a  faire 
new  Matt,  and  under  that  two  bundles,  the  one  bigger,  the 
other  lesse.  We  opened  the  greater  and  found  in  it  a  great 
quantity  of  fine  and  perfect  red  Powder,  and  in  it  the  bones 
and  skull  of  a  man.  The  skull  had  fine  yellow  haire  still  on 
it,  and  some  of  the  flesh  was  consumed  ;  there  was  bound 
up  with  it  a  knife,  a  pack  needle  and  two  or  three  old  iron 
things. 

It  was  bound  up  in  a  saylers  canvas  casake,  and  a  payre 
of  cloth  breeches  ;  the  red  powder  was  a  kind  of  Embaul- 
ment,  and  yeelded  a  strong  but  no  offensive  smell  :  It  was 
as  fine  as  any  flower.  We  opened  the  lesse  bundle  likewise, 


14  RHODE     ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

and  found  of  the  same  powder  in  it,  and  the  bones  and  head 
of  a  little  childe,  about  the  leggs  and  other  parts  of  it  was 
bound  strings,  and  bracelets  of  fine  white  Beads  ;  there  was 
also  by  it,  a  little  bow,  about  three  quarters  long,  and  some 
other  odd  knackes  ;  we  brought  sundry  of  the  prettiest 
things  away  with  us,  and  covered  the  corps  up  againe. 

There  was  varietie  of  opinions  amongst  us  about  the 
embalmed  person  ;  some  thought  it  was  an  Indian  Lord  or 
King  ;  others  sayd,  the  Indians  have  all  blacke  hayre,  and 
never  any  was  scene  with  browne  or  yellow  hayre  ;  some 
thought  it  was  a  Christian  of  some  special  note,  which  had 
dyed  amongst  them,  and  they  thus  buried  him  to  honor  him." 

Those  who  claimed  that  this  was  the  body  of  a  Norse 
man  called  attention  to  the  yellow  hair,  which  so  much  ex 
cited  the  wonder  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  which  is  the  distin 
guishing  mark  of  the  Scandinavian  people,  and  insisted  that 
the  piece  of  wood  "three  quarters  long,  finely  carved  and 
paynted,  with  three  tynes  or  brooches  on  the  top  like  a 
crowne,"  was  the  three  tined  staff  called  the  rymstock  or 
runic  staff  of  the  Norsemen. 

The  mode  of  burial,  too,  with  mats  and  domestic  uten 
sils,  they  claimed  to  be  identical  with  the  mode  of  burial 
among  these  people.  When  asked  to  account  for  the  new 
mat  they  replied,  "The  body  was  embalmed  and  still  nothing 
hardly  but  the  skeleton  was  remaining,  and  therefore  the 
statement  must  be  wrong  in  this  respect. 

Doubtless  this  skeleton  was  in  soil  near  some  lime  stone 
spring,  or  of  a  nature  to  preserve  it  for  a  long  time,  as  well 
as  the  textile  fabrics,  it  being  well  known  that  such  things 
have  been  preserved  for  ages  in  favorable  localities."  Hence, 


EARLY    VOYAGES    TO    AMERICA. 


they  said,  "some  of  the  things  may  have  appeared  newer  by 
comparison,  while  the  very  circumstances  of  the  case  show 
that  they  could  not  have  been  new." 


But  the  Dighton  Rock  of  all  these  supposed  relics  of 
Norse  origin,  furnished  in  the  estimation  of  the  advocates  of 
a  Scandinavian  occupation  the  best  evidence  in  support  of 
their  claims.14 


l6  RHODE     ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

Runic  scholars  pronounced  it  a  genuine  relic,  and  Prof. 
Rafn,  in  the  first  glow  of  zeal,  gave  the  World  a  translation. 
This  rock  is  on  the  shore  of  Taunton  River,  and  has  been  a 
puzzle  to  antiquarians. 

Prof.  Rafn  has  translated  it  as  follows  :  "  Thorfinn, 
with  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  Norse  sea-faring  men,  took 
possession  of  this  land." 

Edward  Everett,  in  the  North  American  Review,  said 
after  studying  the  subject,  "That  the  rock  contains  some 
rude  delineations  of  the  figures  of  men  and  animals  is  appar 
ent  on  the  first  inspection.  The  import  of  the  other  deline 
ations  and  characters  is  more  open  to  doubt.  By  some  per 
sons  the  characters  are  regarded  as  Phoenician.  The  late 
Mr.  Samuel  Harris,  a  very*  learned  Orientalist,  thought  he 
found  the  Hebrew  word  mclck  (King)  in  these  characters. 

Colonel  Valiancy  considers  them  to  be  Scythian,  and 
Messrs.  Rafn  and  Magnussen  think  them  undoubtedly  Runic. 
In  this  great  diversity  of  judgment,  a  decision  is  extremely 
difficult."15  Everett's  opinion  is  probably  that  of  most  stu 
dents  to-day. 

A  curious  allusion  to  the  Dighton  Rock  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Sloane  Manuscripts  in  the  British  Museum,  and 
should  be  noted.  In  a  letter  to  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  from  Cam 
bridge,  December  18,  1730,  are  drawings  of  the  inscriptions 
upon  the  rock  made  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  and  others,  and 
this  statement:  "There  was  a  Tradition  current  among  ye 
Eldest  Indians  that  there  came  a  Wooden  House  (and  men 
of  another  country  in  it)  who  fought  ye  Indians  with  mighty 
success,  &c."  "This,"  says  the  writer,  "I  think  evidently 


EARLY    VOYAGES    TO    AMERICA.  I/ 

shows  that  this  monument  was  esteemed  by  ye  Oldest  In 
dians,  not  only  very  antique,  but  a  Work  of  a  different 
Nature  from  any  of  theirs."  In  another  place  this  writer 
adds,  "They  slew  yr  Saunchem." 

This  is  certainly  important,  for  it  is  to  be  observed  that 
the  opinion  that  the  inscription  upon  the  Dighton  Rock  was 
not  the  work  of  the  Indians,  was  put  forth  more  than  a  cen 
tury  before  the  Norse  voyages  to  this  region  were  discussed. 

In  studying  the  Dighton  Rock,  however,  several  diffi 
culties  present  themselves.  The  inscription  upon  it  has 
been  copied  at  various  times  during  the  past  two  centuries, 
and  the  differences  between  the  copies  are  many  and  strik 
ing.  Lines  appear  in  the  later  copies  which  one  seeks  for 
in  vain  in  earlier  ones,  while  in  these,  one  finds  other  lines 
which  do  not  exist  in  later  copies. 

This  cannot  be  accounted  for  wholly  upon  the  ground 
of  carelessness  in  copying.  There  is  too  much  method  in 
some  of  the  changes,  suggesting  that  irreverent  hands  have 
assisted  from  time  to  time  since  the  discovery  of  the  rock  by 
Europeans,  in  the  evolution  of  certain  figures,  while  nature 
herself  has  expunged  and  added  many  other  lines. 

This  may  be  said  to  be  the  case  with  certain  claimed  to 
be  Norse  writings  upon  the  Maine  coast,  which  an  old  resi 
dent  in  the  vicinity  averred  that  he,  when  a  boy,  assisted  by 
other  boys,  made  upon  the  rocks,  from  time  to  time,  for 
sport.  Natural  lines  and  seams  were  brought  together  and 
united  by  artificial  scratches,  and  such  additions  made  as 
comported  with  the  fancies  of  the  rock  artists. 


I  8  RHODE    ISLAND    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

As  for  the  Dighton  Rock,  it  is  in  any  view  of  the  case  a 
remarkable  relic,  which  may  well  engage  our  attention, 
though  we  should  be  careful  not  to  claim  too  much  for  it ; 
indeed  had  not  the  early  friends  of  the  Scandinavian  theory 
placed  so  much  dependence  upon  this  and  other  curious 
relics,  it  is  probable  that  they  would  have  met  with  less 
opposition. 

This  opposition  was  active  for  a  time,  our  careful  his 
torian,  Bancroft,  being  one  of  the  most  energetic  of  these 
opponents.  Perhaps  it  may  be  well  to  quote  his  own  words. 
He  says  in  the  first  chapter  of  his  History  of  the  United 
States  :  "The  national  pride  of  an  Icelandic  historian  has 
indeed  claimed  for  his  ancestors  the  glory  of  having  discov 
ered  the  Western  hemisphere.  The  geographical  details  are 
too  vague  to  sustain  a  conjecture  ;  the  accounts  of  the  mild 
winter  and  fertile  soil  are  on  any  modern  hypothesis,  fictions 
or  exaggerations  ;  the  description  of  the  natives  applies  only 
to  the  Esquimaux,  inhabitants  of  hyperborean  regions  ;  the 
remark  which  should  define  the  shortest  winter's  day  has 
received  interpretations,  adapted  to  every  latitude  from  New 
York  to  Cape  Farewell,  and  Vinland  has  been  sought  in  all 
directions  from  Greenland  and  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Africa. 

Imagination  has  conceived  the  idea  that  vast  inhabited 
regions  lay  unexplored  in  the  West  ;  and  poets  have  de 
clared,  that  empires  beyond  the  ocean  would,  one  day,  be 
revealed  to  the  daring  navigator. 

But  Columbus  deserves  the  undivided  glory  of  having 
realized  that  belief."16 

Certainly,  with  Bancroft,  we  must  all  render  homage  to 
Columbus  for  his  great  and  heroic  efforts  in  bringing  the 


EARLY  VOYAGES  TO  AMERICA.  IQ 

Western  Continent  to  the  attention  of  the  Nations  of  Eu 
rope  ;  at  the  same  time,  we  should  not  fail  to  render  what 
ever  credit  may  be  due  to  those  who  preceded  him  but 
who  made  their  discoveries  at  a  time  when  the  world  was  not 
ready  to  avail  itself  of  them.  This  will  in  no  wise  detract 
from  the  honor  due  to  the  great  Genoese  navigator. 

In  spite,  however,  of  all  the  opposition  which  has  been 
made,  there  is  to-day  among  historical  students,  an  almost 
general  consensus  of  opinion  in  favor  of  the  validity  of  the 
Scandinavian  claims,  and  this  opinion  is  the  result  of  a  care 
ful  study  of  the  documents  themselves,  which  bear  many  in 
ternal  evidences  of  their  truthfulness. 

Before  examining  them,  however,  let  us  glance  briefly 
at  a  few  historical  facts  preceding  them  ;  the  discovery  of 
Iceland  by  Naddodd,  and  of  Greenland  by  Erik  the  Red, 
which  show  what  daring  navigators  these  Northmen  were. 

Naddodd,  a  viking  or  piratical  trader,  was  the  first  re 
corded  discoverer  of  Iceland.  Returning  from  Norway  in 
the  year  86 1,  he  was  blown  by  a  violent  tempest  from  his 
course.  While  lost  in  a  boundless  waste  of  waters,  he  saw 
through  the  gloom  the  high  hills  of  a  strange  land  rising 
from  the  bosom  of  the  sea,  and  entering  a  bay,  afterwards 
known  as  Reider  Fiord,  he  climbed  a  mountain  to  survey 
the  Country,  hoping  to  find  it  inhabited  ;  but  no  sign  of 
human  beings  was  discoverable.  Three  years  later,  one 
Gardar,  a  Swede,  was  driven  to  the  same  land,  and  wintered 
there. 

The  fame  of  these  discoveries  spread  abroad,  and  caused 
an  adventurous  seaman  named  Floki  to  set  out  on  its  ex- 


2O  RHODE    ISLAND    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

ploration.  Taking  with  him  three  crows,  he  touched  at 
Shetland  and  Faroe,  and  after  sailing  a  long  distance  from 
the  latter  place,  he  let  one  of  the  birds  escape,  which  flew 
away  in  the  direction  of  the  land  left.  Judging  from  this 
that  Faroe17  was  still  the  nearest  land,  he  continued  his  voy 
age,  after  a  while  loosing  another  bird,  which,  rising  high  in 
the  air  and  circling  about  a  while,  returned  to  the  ship,, 
seeing  no  place  whither  it  might  fly  for  rest.  The  third 
bird,  which  he  released  several  days  later,  however,  flew 
away  from  the  ship,  and  following  its  flight,  he  soon  came  in 
sight  of  the  wished-for  land. 

Here  he  passed  two  winters,  but  becoming  discouraged 
at  the  loss  of  his  cattle,  for  which  he  had  not  gathered 
sufficient  food  during  the  summer,  he  returned  to  Norway. 

The  first  permanent  colony  was  planted  in  Iceland  by 
Ingolf.  Ingolf  and  Leif  were  cousins,  whose  families  had 
long  been  united  by  common  troubles,  and  were  about  to 
become  more  closely  united  by  the  marriage  of  Leif  with 
Helga,  the  fair  sister  of  his  friend  and  cousin.  At  a  feast 
given  by  the  cousins  to  the  three  rough  sons  of  Atli  Jarl, 
with  whom  they  had  been  in  an  evil  hour  co-partners  in  an 
expedition,  Holmstein,  one  of  Atli's  sons,  who  was  a  rude 
and  quarrelsome  fellow,  declared  that  he  would  wed  Helga 
and  none  other.  This  led  to  a  battle,  in  which  Holmstein 
was  slain. 

The  cousins,  being  shortly  after  attacked  by  another  of 
the  brothers,  slew  him,  also,  and  for  these  acts  they  were 
banished,  and  set  sail  for  the  strange  land  which  Naddodd 
had  discovered,  and  of  which  they  had  often  heard. 


EARLY  VOYAGES  TO  AMERICA.  21 

The  cousins  reached  this  land  in  870.  Ingolf,  in  the 
Spring  of  the  year  871,  returned  to  Norway  to  dispose  of  his 
effects  there,  and  to  get  some  of  his  friends  to  return  with 
him,  while  Leif  made  a  voyage  to  Ireland  ;  voyages  being 
not  uncommon  at  this  period  between  Norway  and  Ireland  ; 
whence  he  returned  with  an  immense  booty. 

Ingolf  induced  many  of  his  friends  to  undertake  with 
him  the  foundation  of  a  colony  in  this  new  country,  and  in 
874,  he,  with  a  number  of  his  countrymen,  set  sail  from 
Norway  without  chart  or  compass,  and  boldly  steered  his 
little  ship  out  into  the  broad  and  unknown  ocean  in  search 
of  a  new  home.  Ingolf  took  with  him  the  pillars  of  his  old 
home,  and  when  approaching  the  coast,  threw  them  over 
board,  that  he  might  be  guided  by  them  to  a  favorable  place 
for  his  new  abode.  But  a  storm  came  on,  and,  losing  them, 
he  was  obliged  to  land  on  the  Southeastern  shore,  at  a  place 
named  for  him,  Ingolfshofde,  where  he  and  his  party  erected 
habitations,  and  there  remained  for  three  years,  at  the  end 
of  which  time,  some  of  Ingolf's  servants  having  found  the 
pillars  on  the  beach  near  what  is  known  as  Reikiavik,  the 
present  capital,  he  removed  thither. 

Thus  was  Iceland  permanently  settled  in  the  year  874. 
It  is  a  strange  fact  connected  with  this  early  settlement  of 
Iceland,  that  the  Landnamabok  or  Land  Roll  of  the  first 
settlers,  states  that  they  found  Christians  there,  men  called 
Papae,  who,  it  is  said,  came  from  the  West  over  the  Sea, 
and  with  them  Irish  books  and  many  other  things,  whence  it 
was  known  that  they  were  Westmen,  as  the  Irishmen  were 
called. 


RHODE    ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

The  venerable  Bede,  who  flourished  in  the  eighth  cen 
tury,  says,  that  in  his  time,  expeditions  were  made  to  Iceland, 
and  it  is  said  that  these  things,  meaning  such  things  as  the 
first  settlers  in  Iceland  found  among  the  people  they  called 
Papae,  have  been  found  in  the  Isle  of  Papae,  on  the  East 
coast  of  Iceland,  and  at  Papylio.  This  shows  what  frequent 
and  extensive  voyages  were  made  by  Europeans  at  this  early 
day. 

Thus  far  we  have  followed  history,18  but  from  this  point 
we  will  follow  the  Icelandic  Sagas.™  • 

A  century  after  the  settlement  of  Iceland,  Erik,  sur- 
named  the  Red,  who,  with  his  Father,  Thorvald,  had  been 
banished  from  Norway  for  slaying  a  man,  and  who  had  set 
tled  in  Iceland,  having  in  his  new  home  again  killed  a  man 
in  a  quarrel,  was  banished  from  Iceland,  and  fitting  out  a 
vessel  he  sailed  Westward  in  search  of  the  Rocks  of  Gunni- 
born,  rocky  islands,  which,  it  was  said,  one  Gunniborn  had 
seen  to  the  West  of  Iceland. 

Erik  told  his  friends  that  if  he  found  these  islands  he 
would  re-visit  them.  After  sailing  Westward  many  days,  he 
at  last  came  in  sight  of  land,  which  he  spent  some  time  in  ex 
ploring.  This  was  in  the  year  982.  Having  found  a  suitable 
spot  for  habitation,  he  set  out  on  his  return  voyage,  which 
he  accomplished  in  safety.  He  gave  glowing  accounts  of 
the  new  country  which  he  had  discovered,  misnaming  it  Green 
land,  unless  he  named  it  from  his  credulous  friends,  and  finally 
induced  a  number  of  the  people,  with  whom  he  appears  to 
have  been  popular,  to  accompany  him. 

He  therefore  set  sail  with  twenty-five  ships  from  Ice 
land  ;  fourteen  of  which  only  reached  Greenland,  the  others 


EARLY    VOYAGES    TO    AMERICA.  23 

having  been  lost  or  blown  back  to  Iceland.  Among  those 
who  accompanied  Erik  was  Heriulf,  who  was  a  worthy  de 
scendant  of  Ingolf,  the  early  settler  of  Iceland.  This  Heriulf 
had  a  son,  Bjarni  Heriulfson,  who,  when  his  father  sailed 
with  his  friend  Erik,  was  away  in  Norway. 

This  Bjarni,  it  seems,  was  an  adventurous  spirit,  a 
thorough  seaman,  and  possessed  with  a  great  desire  to  see 
strange  lands,  and  at  this  time  had  obtained  considerable 
renown  and  wealth.  His  winters  were  passed  alternately 
abroad  and  with  his  father  in  Iceland.  Coming  back  in  the 
Summer  to  Iceland,  he  was  surprised  to  find  that  his  father 
and  his  men  had  gone  with  Erik  to  the  new  country,  West, 
and  he  at  once  set  out  in  search  of  him,  saying  that  he 
meant  to  pass  the  Winter  with  his  father  as  usual,  wherever 
he  was. 

With  Bjarni  was  a  Christian  from  the  Hebrides,  we 
are  told,  and  this  man  is  not  again  alluded  to,  except  that 
when  passing  a  dangerous  whirlpool,  he  is  said  to  have  sung 
a  hymn.  At  this  time  Bjarni  and  his  crew  had  not  been 
converted  to  Christianity,  and  they  probably  regarded  a 
Christian  as  somewhat  of  a  curiosity.  The  very  simplicity 
of  this  allusion  to  the  man  of  a  strange  belief,  and  to  the 
natural  incident  of  his  singing  a  hymn  when  in  danger,  may 
certainly  be  properly  pointed  out  as  one  of  the  internal  evi 
dences  of  the  truth  of  the  narrative. 

Eor  three  days  they  sailed  with  a  fair  wind,  until  land 
was  lost  to  view,  when  strong  Northeasterly  winds  sprang 
up,  and  dismal  fogs  prevailed.  For  many  days  they  were 
driven  forward,  till  at  length,  the  weather  clearing,  they  saw 


24  RHODE     ISLAND    HISTORICAL    SOCIETV. 

the  sky  again,  and  driving  on  another  day  they  descried  land. 
The  sailors  wanted  to  know  of  Bjarni  if  this  was  Greenland, 
but  he  was  evidently  too  good  a  navigator  to  think  it  was, 
and,  approaching  nearer,  he  was  well  satisfied  that  it  was 
not,  since  unlike  Greenland,  this  country  was  not  mountain 
ous,  which  was  to  them  a  striking  fact,  as  nearly  all  the 
countries  they  knew  were. 

This  land  was  covered  with  forests  and  had  rising 
ground  in  many  parts.  Leaving  it  to  the  left,  they  put 
about  with  the  stern  of  the  ship  towards  the  land  and  sailed 
on  this  course  two  days,  when  they  again  saw  land.  The 
sailors  asked  Bjarni  if  this  was  Greenland,  but  he  said  that 
it  could  not  be,  "  Because  in  Greenland  are  said  to  be  very 
high  ice  hills."  This  land  was  low  and  thickly  covered  with 
wood.  The  sailors  wanted  to  land,  but  the  prudent  Bjarni 
would  not  permit  this,  though  they  clamored  loudly  and  tried 
to  make  him  believe  that  they  were  short  of  wood  and  water. 

Doubtless  he  was  afraid  that  if  they  once  landed^  it 
would  take  a  long  time  to  get  them  on  board  again  ;  besides, 
the  season  was  getting  late,  and  unknown  perils  were  before 
him  ;  so,  refusing  the  pressing  entreaties  of  his  men,  he 
pushed  on  to  the  Northeast,  and  after  three  days'  sailing 
again  made  land.  They  coasted  along  its  shore  till  he  per 
ceived  that  it  was  an  island.  Then  he  put  the  ship  about 
with  its  stern  towards  the  land,  and  stood  out  to  sea,  with 
the  wind  from  the  Southwest,  which  soon  increased  so  that 
they  were  obliged  to  shorten  sail.  So  they  sped  on  for  .four 
days,  when  a  mountainous  land  appeared  in  sight,  and  this 
proved  to  be  Greenland,  where  he  found  his  father,  and  there 
abode  with  him  that  Winter,  985-6. 


EARLY  VOYAGES  TO  AMERICA.  25 

Of  course  the  discovery  of  a  land  Southwest  of  Green 
land  caused  a  great  deal  of  discussion,  and  Bjarni  was  much 
blamed,  especially  in  Norway,  where  he  afterwards  went,  for 
not  pushing-  his  exploration  further.  It  was  left,  however,  to 
Leif,  the  eldest  son  of  Erik,  to  attempt  the  voyage. 

Visiting  Norway  in  999,  Leif  embraced  Christianity, 
under  the  persuasive  influence  of  King  Olaf  Tryggvason. 
At  the  Court  of  this  monarch,  the  discovery  of  Bjarni,  Leif  s 
friend,  was  doubtless  often  discussed  and  his  course  cen 
sured.  Leif  determined  to  attempt  the  voyage  himself,  and 
with  this  purpose  in  mind,  he  returned  to  Greenland  with  his 
men,  who  had  all  embraced  Christianity.  Thus  in  the  year 
999  was  Christianity  introduced  into  Greenland  by  Leif 
Erikson,  who,  from  what  is  related  of  him,  was  a  man  of  noble 
character  and  bearing.  Reaching  home,  his  first  business  was 
to  purchase  his  friend  Bjarni's  vessel,  which,  it  appears,  was  a 
good  one  for  such  a  hazardous  undertaking,  and,  with  a  crew 
of  thirty-five  men,  he,  without  chart  or  compass,  set  sail  in 
search  of  the  new  land  which  Bjarni  Had  seen  to  the  South 
west. 

Of  course  he  was  not  impelled  by  unselfish  motives,  for 
rumor  magnified  in  those  days  the  wealth  of  all  new  coun 
tries.  It  is  said  that  Erik,  his  father,  had  determined  to  ac 
company  him  on  his  dangerous  voyage,  but  at  the  last 
moment  refused,  though  urgently  pressed  by  his  son,  giving 
as  an  excuse  a  slight  accident20  which  had  just  happened  to 
him,  a  trifling  incident,  but  such  a  one  as  would  hardly  have 
been  created  by  a  romancer,  who  could  have  easily  invented 
something  of  a  much  more  startling  character.  One  of  Leif  s 


26  RHODE     ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

crew  was  a  man  from  the  South  country  ;  that  is,  Germany. 
The  name  of  this  man  was  Tyrker,  which  signifies  the  Ger 
man,  whom  we  shall  find  further  along  in  the  narrative, 
appearing  in  a  characteristic  manner. 

Following  the  description  given  of  his  course  by  Bjarni, 
Leif  finally  made  land,  and  going  ashore,  examined  it. 
Above  were  frozen  heights  ;  no  herbage  appeared,  and  the 
whole  space  between  the  heights  and  the  sea  was  covered 
with  bare  flat  rocks.  Leif  named  this  forbidding  country 
Helluland  ;  that  is,  flat-stone-land,  and  then  put  to  sea,  fol 
lowing  the  track  which  Bjarni  had  described.  Rafn  supposes 
this  to  have  been  Newfoundland,  and  to  one  who  has  been 
upon  the  coast,  the  description  of  Leif  appears  strikingly 
accurate.  Continuing  his  course,  Leif  again  made  land,  which 
he  describes  as  Bjarni  describes  it,  as  being  flat  and  well  wood 
ed,  though  he  omits  the  small  heights  which  Bjarni  mentions. 
Leif,  however,  unlike  Bjarni,  landed  and  saw  more. 

He  says  that  the  shores  were  low,  and  that  they  saw 
about  them  wide  stretches  of  white  sand,  which  is  a  very 
important  addition  to  Bjarni's  statement,  and  tends  to  iden 
tify  the  country  with  Nova  Scotia,  as  the  white  sands  and 
long,  level  appearance  of  the  hills  from  the  sea,  are  particu 
larly  noted  by  modern  voyagers  along  the  Nova  Scotia  coast. 
The  very  differences  in  the  two  accounts  of  Bjarni  and  Leif 
tend  to  establish  the  truthfulness  of  both,  since  these 
differences  naturally  grow  out  of  the  different  circumstances 
under  which  they  beheld  the  country. 

"This  land,"  said  Leif,  "shall  be  named  after  its  qualities 
and  called  Markland,"  that  is,  Woodland.    Again  they  sailed 


EARLY    VOYAGES    TO    AMERICA.  2/ 

two  days,  When  they  again  made  land,  and  approaching, 
touched  at  an  island,  which  lay  opposite  the  easterly  part  of 
the  main  land. 

They  found  the  air  remarkably  pleasant,  and  noticed 
that  the  grass  was  covered  with  dew,  which,  touching  acci 
dentally  and  conveying  to  the  mouth,  was  found  to  be  sweet 
to  the  taste.  What  was  this  island  ?  Starting  from  the 
sandy  shores  of  Cape  Sable,  with  a  northwesterly  wind,  the 
first  land  fall  would  probably  be  Cape  Cod  or  the  Island  of 
Nantucket.  Changes  are  supposed  to  have  taken  place  in 
this  region,  owing  to  the  action  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  which 
have  reduced  the  prominence  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
promontory,  and  worn  away  islands  which  formerly  existed 
in  the  vicinity. 

The  sweet  dew  mentioned  may  have  been  caused  by 
Aphides,  and  is  sometimes  so  abundant,  says  Brande,  as  to 
fall  from  the  leaves  in  drops.  Its  existence,  therefore,  is  not 
a  myth,  as  some  critics  have  supposed. 

Returning  to  the  ship,  they  sailed  into  a  sound  which 
lay  between  the  island  and  the  promontory,  which  ran  out 
from  the  land  eastwardly,  and  steered  westerly  past  it. 
At  ebb  tide,  the  shallows  were  so  great  that,  says  the  Saga, 
"it  was  far  to  see  from  the  ship  to  the  water,"  but  they  were 
so  eager  to  land  that  they  did  not  wait  for  the  rising  tide, 
but  ran  on  shore  at  a  place  where  a  river  flowed  out  of  a 
lake  ;  but  upon  the  flood  tide  they  floated  their  ship  up  the 
river  and  into  the  lake. 

There  could  hardly  be  a  more  exact  description  made  by 
a  person,  who,  after  passing  the  promontory  and  the  mouth 


28  RHODE     ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

of  Buzzard's  Bay,  should  take  the  Seaconnet  passage  and 
Pocasset  River  into  Mount  Hope  Bay.  It  is  said  that  after 
counselling  together,  they  concluded  to  pass  the  winter 
there,  and  at  once  began  building  habitations.  They 
found  abundance  of  salmon  in  both  river  and  lake,  and 
thought  that  the  nature  of  the  country  was  such  that  cattle 
would  not  require  to  be  housed  in  Winter.  They  also  ob 
served  that  the  day  and  night  were  more  equal  than  in 
Greenland  or  Iceland  ;  the  sun  on  the  shortest  day  being 
above  the  horizon  from  half  past  seven  in  the  morning  until 
half  past  four  in  the  afternoon. 

Both  of  the  foregoing  statements  have  met  with  opposi 
tion.  We  have  seen  that  Bancroft  has  objected,  that  the 
description  of  the  climate  of  Vinland  does  not  apply  to  the 
climate  of  Rhode  Island.  The  exact  words  of  the  Saga  are, 
"  They  thought  that  the  nature  of  the  country  was  so  good 
that  cattle  would  not  require  house  feeding  in  Winter  ;  for 
there  came  no  frost  in  Winter,  and  little  did  the  grass  wither 
there.  " 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  people  coming  from  the  icy 
shores  of  Greenland,  would  find  in  such  a  locality  as  Mount 
Hope  Bay  a  most  agreeable  change  from  the  extreme  rigors 
to  which  they  had  been  accustomed*  and  would  be  likely 
to  exaggerate  the  mildness  of  the  climate.  A  writer, 
a  few  years  since,  in  describing  this  region,  has  said, 
that  in  "  most  winters  a  scanty  substance  might  be  procured 
for  cattle,  but  this  could  not  be  depended  upon.  Farmers 
generally  house  their  cattle  in  Winter.  We  do  not  consider 
it  absolutely  necessary,  though  a  prudent  husbandman  will 


KARI.Y     VOYAOKS    TO     AMERICA.  2Q 

do  it.  Some  individuals  in  that  vicinity  do  not  shelter  their 
sheep,  and  say  they  thrive  well  and  become  robust.'"21 

With  regard  to  the  length  of  the  day,  which  would  indi 
cate  the  latitude  of  the  place,  much  has  been  written.  When 
Bancroft  wrote,  he  was  probably  influenced  in  his  opinion  by 
the  fact  that  Torfoeus,  in  calculating  the  latitude  of  the  place 
where  Leif  wintered,  fixed  it  in  Newfoundland,  an  error 
which  is  now  known  to  have  resulted  from  a  misinterpre 
tation.  Rafn  has  calculated  the  latitude  to  be  41  degrees, 
24  minutes,  10  seconds,  which  is  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount 
Hope  Bay.  It  is  certainly  remarkable  that  with  their  im 
perfect  method  of  calculating  time,  the  Norsemen  should 
have  been  so  accurate  in  their  statement. 

Having  "done  with  house  building,"  says  the  narrative, 
Leif  divided  his  men  into  two  companies,  which  were  to  take 
turns  daily  in  exploring  and  guarding  the  common  property. 
The  exploring  party  was  under  orders  to  always  return  at 
night,  and  never  to  separate.  Leif,  it  is  said,  "was  a  great 
and  strong  man,  grave  and  well  favored,  therewith  sensible 
and  moderate  in  all  things." 

Upon  an  evening  when  the  explorers  returned,  it  was 
.found  that  one  of  the  party  was  missing.  This  was  Tyrker, 
the  German.  He  had  long  been  with  Leif's  father,  and  had 
been  loved  by  Leif  from  his  childhood,  hence  the  latter  was 
greatly  disturbed  at  his  absence,  and  sharply  chided  his  men 
for  losing  sight  of  him.  Taking  twelve  men  he  started  in 
search  of  Tyrker,  but  had  not  gone  far  when  he  met  the  old 
man  returning.  Leif  joyfully  received  him,  but  perceived 
that  he  was  in  an  excited  condition  of  mind,  and  enquired 


3°  RHODE     ISLAM)     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

why  he  was  out  so  late,  and  how  he  became  separated  from 
the  party.  Tyrker  at  first  repeated  some  German  words, 
rolling  his  eyes  and  twisting  his  mouth,  and  then  answered 
in  Norse,  "I  have  not  been  much  further  off,  but  still  have 
I  something  new  to  tell  of;  I  found  vines  and  grapes." 
"But  is  that  true,  my  foster  father?"  asked  Leif.  "Surely 
is  it  true,"  replied  he,  "for  I  was  bred  up  in  the  land  where 
there  is  no  want  of  either  wine  or  grapes." 

This  incident  has  been  especially  ridiculed,  yet  its 
simplicity  is  an  argument  in  favor  of  its  truth.  Tyrker 
is  represented  as  a  nervous  man,  with  a  high  forehead,  un 
steady  eyes,  a  freckled  face,  and  of  small  stature  ;  but  a 
skilled  artisan.  He  had  not  seen  grapes  for  many  years, 
and  the  discovery  of  them  naturally  occasioned  great  joy. 
What  explanation  is  more  reasonable,  than  that  the  excitable 
old  man  should  repeat  in  German,  sayings  learned  in  youth 
in  praise  of  the  grape,  of  which  many  abound  in  the  Ger 
man  tongue  ? 

The  next  morning  Leif  set  his  men  at  work  gathering 
grapes,  cutting  vines  and  felling  trees  with  which  to  load  the 
ship.  The  long  boat  it  is  said  he  caused  to  be  filled  with 
grapes.  "Now,"  says  the  narrative,  "was  a  cargo  cut  down 
for  the  ship,  and  when  Spring  came  they  got  ready  and  sail 
ed  away  ;  and  Leif  gave  the  land  a  name  after  its  qualities 
and  called  it  Vinland." 

Having  put  to  sea  with  a  fair  wind,  they  at  length  came 
in  sight  of  Greenland.  As  they  approached,  one  of  Leif  s 
men  asked  him  why  he  steered  so  close  to  the  wind,  and 
was  answered,  that  he  was  doing  more  than  steering  as 


KAKLY  VOYAGES  TO  AMERICA.  31 

he  saw  something,  but  was  not  sure  whether  it  was  a  ship  or 
a  rock.  Presently  however,  his  quick  eye  saw  that  it  was  a 
rock  and  men  upon  it. 

Going  to  the  assistance  of  the  men,  Tyrker  asked,  as 
Leif  brought  his  ship  to  anchor  near  the  rock,  the  name  of 
their  leader,  and  was  told  that  it  was  Thorer,  a  Norwegian  by 
birth.  Thorer  in  turn  asked  the  name  of  the  Captain  of 
the  ship  which  had  come  to  his  rescue  and  was  told  that  it 
was  Leif  the  son  of  Erik  the  Red  of  Brattahlid.  Leif  then 
kindly  took  Thorer  and  his  men,  fifteen  in  all,  on  board  with 
as  many  of  their  goods  as  possible  and  sailed  for  home. 

Leif  showed  Thorer  and  his  companions  great  hos 
pitality  and  found  employment  for  his  men.  For  saving  the 
lives  of  these  people,  as  well  probably  as  for  his  successful 
voyage,  he  was  ever  afterwards  called  Leif  the  lucky.  This 
expedition  contributed  to  his  wealth  and  honor.  . 

During  the  following  winter,  Thorer  and  a  number  of 
his  companions  fell  victims  to  a  disease  which  prevailed  in 
Greenland.  Erik  the  Red,  Leif's  father,  died  also. 

Leif's  successful  voyage  was  much  discussed,  and  Thor- 
vald  his  brother  thought  the  new  country  had  not  been  suf 
ficiently  explored,  whereupon  Leif  gave  him  leave  to  go  to 
Vinland,  loaning  his  ship  for  the  voyage,  upon  conditions 
that  she  should  first  go  and  bring  the  timber  which  had  been 
left  upon  the  rock  when  Thorer  was  wrecked,  which  was 
done. 

We  now  come  to  the  voyage  of  Thorvald  which  took 
place  in  the  Spring  of  1002.  Nothing  is  said  of  the 
incidents  connected  with  it.  We  are  only  told  that  it  was 


32  RHODE     ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

propitious,  and  that  the  new  World  was  reached  in  due  time. 
Thorvald  found  the  dwellings  which  Leif  had  erected,  and 
called  them  Leif's  booths. 

Having  drawn  their  ship  on  shore  for  safety,  the  Norse 
men  passed  the  Winter  there.  In  the  Spring,  Thorvald  had 
the  ship  put  in  order,  and  sent  a  crew  in  the  long  boat  to 
explore.  They  found  the  land  fair  and  well  wooded  along 
the  coast,  with  white  sand,  beaches,  many  islands  and  much 
shallow  water.  The  only  sign  of  habitation  they  found,  was 
a  wooden  shed. 

The  Summer  was  spent  in  exploration.  The  next  sea 
son,  Thorvald  took  the  ship  and  explored  the  coast  "east 
ward — and  around  to  the  land  northward."  This  is  a  very 
significant  statement,  as  it  is  the  direction  they  would  be 
obliged  to  take  in  explorations  from  this  point  towards  the 
North.  When  off  a  ness,  or  promontory,  a  storm  drove  the 
ship  ashore  and  the  keel  was  broken  from  it.  This  Thor 
vald  set  up  on  the  promontory  and  called  it  Kialarness  or 
Keel  point. 

They  then  sailed  round  the  eastern  shores  and  into  the 
neighboring  bays,  until  they  reached  a  beautifully  wooded 
point,  where  Thorvald  landed  exclaiming  "  Here  is  beautiful 
and  here  would  I  like  to  raise  my  dwelling."  Shortly  after 
they  discovered  three  skin  boats  or  canoes,  and  under  each 
of  them  three  natives.  Eight  of  these  they  killed,  but  one 
escaped  and  gave  the  alarm  to  his  friends  in  the  vicinity, 
who  attacked  the  Norse  ship  in  their  canoes,  and  after  a 
sharp  battle  were  defeated. 


EARLY  VOYAGES  TO  AMERICA.  33 

Thorvald,  however,  received  a  mortal  wound  from  an 
arrow.  Finding  he  was  about  to  die,  he  said  to  his  men, 
"  Now  counsel  I  ye  that  ye  get  ready  instantly  to  depart,  but 
ye  shall  bear  me  to  that  Cape,  where  I  thought  it  best  to 
dwell;  it  may  be  that  a  true  word  fell  from  my  mouth,  that  I 
should  dwell  there  for  a  time  ;  there  shall  ye  bury  me,  and 
set  up  crosses  at  my  head  and  feet,  and  call  the  place  Kros- 
saness,  for  ever  in  all  time  to  come." 

"  Now  Thorvald  died,"  says  the  Saga,  "but  they  did  all 
things  according  to  his  directions,  and  then  went  away,  and 
returned  to  their  companions,  and  told  to  each  other  the 
tidings  which  they  knew,  and  dwelt  there  for  the  Winter  and 
gathered  grapes  and  vines  to  load  the  ship.  But  in  the 
Spring,  they  made  ready  to  sail  to  Greenland  and  came  in 
their  ship  to  Eriksfjord,  and  could  now  tell  great  tidings  to 
Leif." 

Thorstein,  the  younger  son  of  Erik,  being  possessed 
with  a  desire  to  go  to  Vinlancl  to  get  the  body  of  his  brother 
Thorvald,  fitted  out  the  ship  which  Thorvald  had  sailed  in, 
and  with  twenty-five  men  selected  for  their  strength  and 
stature,  and  his  wife  Gudride  set  out  for  Vinlancl.  Through 
the  entire  summer  they  were  tossed  about  by  the  sea,  and 
driven  about  by  contrary  winds.  It  was  not  till  the  begin 
ning  of  Winter  that  they  made  land,  which  they  found  to  be 
on  the  West  coast  of  Greenland,  at  a  place  called  Lysefjord. 

Landing  here  to  winter,  a  disease  attacked  his  sailors, 
and  Thorstein  commanded  coffins  to  be  made  for  them,  for 
said  he  "  I  will  have  all  the  bodies  taken  to  Eriksfjord  in  the 
Summer;"  but  Thorstein  himself  fell  a  prey  to  the  disease. 


34  RHODE     ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

By  the  kindness  of  a  man  who  dwelt  at  Lysefjord  how 
ever,  Thorstein's  ship  was  taken  back  to  Eriksfjord  bearing 
Gudride  and  the  bodies  of  Thorstein  and  those  of  his  crew 
who  died. 

But  another  voyage  to  the  new  world  was  to  be  made. 
In  the  Autumn  of  the  year  in  which  Gudride  returned  to 
Brattahlid,  that  is,  in  1006,  there  came  Thorn nn  Karlsefne 
in  his  ship  from  Iceland.  Becoming  enamored  of  the  fail- 
widow  he  wooed  and  married  her  during  the  Winter. 

The  discourse  at  Brattahlid  often  turned  upon  the  dis 
covery  of  Vinland  the  Good,  and  many  thought  that  a  pro 
fitable  voyage  might  be  made  thither  ;  hence,  in  the  Spring, 
three  vessels  were  made  ready  for  the  expedition.  Thorn  nn 
took  command  of  his  own  ship,  and  was  accompanied  by 
Gudride  and  other  friends.  Snorri  Thorbrandson,  a  man  of 
distinguished  lineage,  commanded  one  of  the  vessels  ;  an 
other  was  commanded  by  Bjarni  Grimolfson,  and  Thorhall 
Gamlason  who  had  passed  the  Christmas  at  Brattahlid,  and 
the  ship  in  which  Thorbjorn,  Gudride' s  father,  formerly  came 
from  Iceland  was  made  ready,  and  put  under  command  of 
Thorward,  a  son-in-law  of  Erik,  who  took  with  him  his  wife 
Freydis.  The  minuteness  of  the  account  is  striking.  The 
ship  which  brought  Thorbjorn  from  Iceland,  was  an  old  one, 
as  the  event  occurred  many  years  before,  and  bears  so  little 
upon  the  narrative  as  to  render  it  improbable  that  a  ro 
mancer  would  introduce  it  into  his  story.  It  seems,  indeed, 
like  one  of  the. little  details  of  a  simple  and  truthful  history. 

They  first  sailed  to  Westerbygd,  and  thence  in  a  south 
erly  direction  to  Helluland,  where  they  found  foxes  abund- 


EARLY  VOYAGES  TO  AMERICA.  .  35 

ant  ;  and  then  still  southerly  for  two  clays,  when  they  reach 
ed  Markland,  which  was  well  wooded,  as  before  mentioned  by 
their  predecessors.  In  this  account  is  added  to  the  descrip 
tion  of  Markland,  that  it  was  well  stocked  with  animals. 
Thus  by  putting  the  various  accounts  together  of  the  places 
mentioned  in  the  Sagas,  we  find  that  they  more  completely 
describe  the  places  we  have  supposed  them  to  refer  to,  a  fact 
which  greatly  strengthens  our  belief  in  their  historical  ac 
curacy. 

Leaving  Markland  they  sailed  South  for  two  days  and 
then  turned  to  the  southeast,  and  "  found  a  land  covered 
with  wood,  and  many  wild  beasts  upon  it  ;.ah  island  lay  there 
out  from  the  land  to  the  southeast ;  there  killed  they  a  bear 
and  called  the  place  Bear  Island,  but  the  land  Markland." 
"This  island  is  an  important  addition  to  the  account,  and  well 
applies  to  Cape  Sable  Island. 

"  Thence  sailed  they  far  to  the  Southward  along  the 
land  and  came  to  a  ness  ;  the  land  lay  upon  the  right  ;  they 
landed  and  found  there  upon  the  ness  the  keel  of  a  ship" 
and  recognized  it  as  Kialarness.  The  strands  they  .  called 
Fdurdudstrands,  the  Wonderstrands,  on  account  of  their  ex 
tent  and  appearance. 

This  is  another  important  addition  to  the  former  des 
criptions  and  well  identifies  Cape  Cod.  Let  us  read  Hitch 
cock's  description  of  the  Cape.  "The  dunes,  or  sand  hills, 
which  are  often  nearly  or  quite  barren  of  vegetation  and  of 
snowy  whiteness,  forcibly  attract  attention  -on  account  of 
their  peculiarity.  As  we  approached  the  extremity  of  the 
Cape,  the  sand  and  barrenness  increased  ;  and  in  not  a  few 


36  RHODE     ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

places,  it  would  need  only  a  party  of  Bedouin  Arabs  to 
cross  the  traveller's  path,  to  make  him  feel  that  he  was  in 
the  depths  of  an  Arabian  or  Lybian  desert."22 

It  has  been  claimed  by  Dr.  Kohl,  the  eminent  historian, 
that  Thorfinn  in  sailing  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Cape  Cod,  sail 
ed  along  the  coast  of  Maine.  He  -translates  the  account  of 
this  part  of  the  voyage  thus:  "  They  coasted  along  a  great- 
way  to  tJic  Southwest  Jiainng  the  land  always  on  tJicir  star 
board  until  they  came  to  Kialarness"'1*  This  is  an  erroneous 
rendering  of  the  passage,  which  is  as  we  have  quoted  it, 
namely  "Thence  sailed  they  far  to  the  southward  along  the 
land,  and  came  to  a  ness  ;  the  land  lay  upon  the  right." 

It  is  certainly  quite  evident  that  there  is  not  the  least 
ground  in  the  Sagas  upon  which  to  found  Dr.  Kohl's  theory, 
which  seems  to  be  the  result  of  a  careless  rendering  of  the 
original,  by  which  it  is  made  to  appear  that  they  sailed  south 
ward  along  the  shore  with  the  land  always  upon  their  right 
until  they  reached  the'  Cape.  To  any  one  who  will  study  the 
conformation  of  the  coast,  it  will  be  seen  that  this  theory  is 
wholly  untenable. 

The  narrative  continues  that  the  land  became  indented 
with  coves,  one  of  which  they  entered  with  the  ship.  King 
Olaf  Tryggvason  had  given  Thorfinn  two  Scots,  a  man  and 
a  woman,  who  were  swift  of  foot.  These  he  put  ashore  very 
lightly  clad,  with  orders  to  run  over  the  country  to  the  south 
ward  for  three  days,  and  to  then  return.  When  they  return" 
ed  to  the  ship,  they  brought  with  them  a  bunch  of 
grapes  and  an  ear  of  corn  to  show  what  the  land  produced. 

Proceeding  on  their  course,  the  ships  reached  a  frith 
where  lay  an  island,  around  which  were  powerful  currents. 


EARLY     VOYAGES    TO     AMERICA.  37 

The  eider  ducks  were  so  plenty  upon  this  island,  that  one 
could  hardly  walk  upon  it  without  breaking  the  eggs  of  those 
birds.  They  called  the  island  Straumey,  or  the  Isle  of  cur 
rents.  This  whole  account  points  to  the  Isle  of  Martha's 
Vineyard,  or  Cuttyhunk  as  the  Straumey  of  the  Norsemen. 
The  currents  here  are  still  strong  and  rapid  and  are  due  to 
the  Gulf  Stream.  The  Islands  in  this  vicinity  were  formerly 
so  much  frequented  by  wild  fowl  as  to  have  been  called 
Kgg  Islands.  The  very  fact  that  Leif  and  Thorvald  did  not 
mention  these  rapid  currents  is  significant,  that  they  passed 
across  the  mouth  of,  while  Thornnn  sailed  up  Buzzard's 

Bay. 

"This  bay,  Thornnn  called  Straumfjord  or  Bay  of  cur 
rents.  Here  they  disembarked  and  made  preparations  for 
passing  the  Winter.  They  had  brought  cattle  for  which  they 
found  pasturage  and  passed  the  Winter  of  1007-8.  They 
spent  considerable  time  in  explorations,  and  fishing  declining, 
they  were  short  of  food  for  which  they  prayed  to  God, 
but  their  prayers  were  not  answered. 

Thorhall  having  absented  himself  from  them,  they  sought 
and  found  him  on  a  rock  looking  up  to  the  sky  and  murmur 
ing  something.  This  was  shortly  explained  when  they  found 
near  by  the  body  of  a  whale,  which,  Thorhall,  who  was 
not  a  Christian,  claimed  was  sent  in  answer  to  his  verses  to 
Thor  and  not  by  Christ  in  answer  to  the  Christians'  prayer. 
The  flesh  of  the  whale  had  made  them  sick,  and  when  they 
heard  Thorhall's  claim  they  cast  the  flesh  of  the  whale  back 
into  the  sea.  The  weather  now  improved  ;  they  were  able  to 
get  fish  and  eggs  from  the  island  as  well  as  game.  Thorhall 


38  RIIODK     ISLAM)      HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

now  wanted  to  cruise  northward,  while  Thorfinn  preferred 
to  explore  southward,  hence  they  separated,  but  only  eight 
men  accompanied  Thorhall.  It  is  said  they  were  overtaken 
by  a  storm  and  blown  to  the  Irish  Coast,  where  they  were 
made  slaves. 

Thorfinn,  however,  and  the  others  sailed  southward 
along  the  coast  and  came  to  a  river  which  "  ran  out  from  the 
land  through  a  lake  into  the  sea."  It  was  very  shallow  and 
one  could  not  enter  the  river  without  high  water.  They 
sailed  up  as  far  as  the  mouth  and  called  the  place  Hop.  On 
the  low  lands  they  found  wild  wheat,  growing,  while  on  the 
high  lands  were  vines. 

The  name  given  by  the  Norsemen  to  this  Bay  is  notice 
able.  It  signifies  a  recess  formed  by  the  confluence  of  a 
river  and  the  sea,  and  perfectly  describes  Mount  Hope  Bay. 
We  know  that  Indian  words  were  frequently  anglicised  ;  as 
in  the  instance  of  Pjepscot,  which  was  transformed  into 
Bishop's  Cot.  Latin  scholars  gave  them  a  Latin  form,  as  in 
the  case  of  Lacadia,  which  became  Acadia,  and  Frenchmen 
transformed  them  into  French  words,  which  they  resembled 
in  sound.  This  was  the  case  with  the  Indian  word,  Haup, 
which  was  metamorphosed  into  Hope.  The  question  natu 
rally  arises,  was  the  Indian  name  Haup  derived  from  the 
Norse  residents  there,  and  so  handed  down  ?  Whether  this 
is  true  or  not,  the  coincidence  is  remarkable.  The 
Norsemen  applied  to  the  bay,  which  they  described,  and 
which  answers  perfectly  to  the  description  of  Mount  Hope 
Bay  as  before  said,  the  name  Hop  ;  the  Indians  called  it 
Haup,  and  it  is  on  maps  to-day,  Hope,  certainly  a  noticeable 
coincidence. 


EARLY  VOYACKS  TO  AMERICA.  39 

Another  coincidence  is  quite  noticeable.  The  Norse 
men  called  the  Cape,  which  they  described  a  ness,  or  naze, 
and  Cape  Cod  was  called  by  the  Indians  Nesset  or  Nauset. 
Thorfimr's  men  found  fish  abundant  in  Hop  Bay.  By  dig 
ging  holes  near  the  shores  they  took  many  flat  fish  which 
were  left  by  the  receding  tide. 

They  passed  half  a  month  in  this  pleasant  place, 
having  moved  hither  their  cattle  and  other  property.  One 
morning  they  were  surprised  to  see  a  number  of  canoes  fill 
ed  with  savages  coming  around  the  Cape  from  the  South. 
Thorfinn  raised  up  a  white  shield. in  token  of  peace.  The 
natives  who  are  described  as  being  swarthy  and  ill  favored, 
with  coarse  hair,  large  eyes  and  broad  cheeks,  gazed  at  them 
for  a  while  in  surprise,  and  then  rowed  away  in  the  direction 
in  which  they  came. 

Thorfinn  and  his  people  erected  dwellings  about  the 
Lake  and  passed  the  Winter  there  ;  but  on  the  appearance 
of  Spring  they  were  again  surprised  one  morning  to  see  a 
large  number  of  canoes  coming  around  the  Cape  from  the 
South.  Thorfinn,  as  before,  raised  a  white  shield,  and  the 
Natives  soon  opened  a  barter,  exchanging  furs  for  red  cloth, 
which  they  greatly  coveted.  They  also  wanted  swords  and 
spears,  which  Thorfinn  refused  to  let  them  have.  For  a  bit 
of  red  cloth  they  gave  a  whole  skin,  and  when  the  supply  of 
the  precious  cloth  ran  low,  it  was  cut  up  into  still  smaller 
bits  and  dealt  out  to  them.  Those  who  obtained  strips  of  it 
bound  it  about  their  heads. 

Thorfinn  finally  treated  them  to  some  milk  soup,  which 
they  relished  so  well,  that  they  gave  back  the  red  cloth  for  it, 


4O  KHODK     ISLAND      HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

and  the  chronicler  says  quaintly,  "the  traffic  of  the  Skrasl- 
ings  wound  up  by  their  bearing  away  their  purchases  in 
their  stomachs  ;  but  Karlsefne  and  his  companions  retained 
their  goods  and  skins."  It  happened  that  a  bull  belonging 
to  the  Norsemen  ran  from  the  woods  bellowing,  which  great 
ly  terrified  the  Savages,  who  fled  in  dismay.  They  were  not 
again  seen  for  three  weeks,  and  then  they  reappeared  in 
great  numbers.  A  battle  took  place,  which  resulted  in  the 
retreat  of  the  Savages.  Thorfinn  had  lost  some  of  his  men 
in  the  fight,  and  although  the  country  was  good,  they  ap 
prehended  danger  from  the  natives  ;  therefore  they  thought 
best  to  depart. 

They  sailed  northward  along  the  Coast,  and  surprised 
five  natives  clothed  in  skins.  They  had  with  them  vessels 
containing  marrow  mixed  with  blood.  Thorfinn  supposed 
them  to  be  exiles  from  their  people,  and  his  men  killed  them. 
They  afterwards  came  to  a  promontory  abounding  in  wild 
animals  as  they  judged  from  marks  which  they  saw.  If  we 
have  followed  the  Norsemen  thus  far  correctly,  this  promon 
tory  should  be  the  one  upon  which  the  city  of  Providence 
now  stands.  From  here  they  went  to  Straumfjord,  where 
they  found  abundance  of  food.  Thorfinn  now  went  West  in 
his  ship  in  search  of  Thorhall,  leaving  the  other  ship  and 
crew  at  Straumfjord.  Sailing  northward  around  Kialarness, 
they  went  westward  after  passing  that  promontory,  the  land 
laying  to  the  left. 

When  they  had  sailed  for  some  time  they  came  to  a 
river  which  "fell  out  of  the  land  from  east  to  west  ;  they  put 
in  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  lay  by  its  southern  bank." 


EARLY    VOYAGES    TO    AMERICA.  41 

Not  finding  Thorhall  they  returned  to  Kialarness,  from 
whence  they  sailed  southward.  The  hills,  which  they  saw  as 
they  sailed,  they  considered  as  being  a  part  of  the  same  range 
which  they  had  seen  at  Hop. 

This  statement  should  be  particularly  noted,  as  it  forms 
an  important  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  which  we  have 
adduced  in  support  of  the  accuracy  with  which  the  Sagas 
describe  Cape  Cod  and  the  regions  laying  both  to  the  North 
and  Southwest  of  that  remarkable  headland. 

The  winter  of  1009-10  was  passed  at  Straumfjord. 
During  the  first  Autumn  of  their  arrival  a  son  had  been 
born  to  Thorfinn,  whom  he  named  after  his  friend  Snorri, 
and  he  was  now  in  his  third  year.  In  the  Spring  of  1010, 
they  set  sail  for  Vinland,  touching  at  Markland,  where  they 
surprised  several  natives  and  succeeded  in  capturing  two 
boys,  whom  they  took  to  Eriksfjord  where  they  were  taught 
the  Norse  language  and  baptized. 

The  other  ship  which  accompanied  Thorfinn,  and  which 
was  commanded  by  Bjarni  Grimolfson,  was  blown  eastward 
and  lost;  a  few  only  of  the  crew  escaped  in  an  open  boat. 
In  the  Spring,  Thorfinn  and  Gudride  sailed  for  Norway, 
where  they  were  received  with  great  honor.  The  furs  which 
Thorfinn  had  obtained  from  the  natives  were  considered 
of  much  value. 

The  next  season  they  departed  from  Norway  for  Ice 
land  and  passed  the  Winter  at  Reynisness.  The  next 
Spring,  Thorfinn  bought  the  Glaumbae  estate,  and  there  pass 
ed  the  rest  of  his  life. 


42  RHODE     ISLAND     HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

We  now  come  again  to  authentic  history,  having  span 
ned  a  gap  with  the  Sagas.  The  family  of  Thorfinn  was 
illustrious  in  Iceland  and  his  descendants  numerous,  many  of 
them  becoming  well  known  in  Scandinavian  history.  Gud- 
ride  and  Snorri — the  son  born  in  the  new  world — lived  on 
his  estate  after  the  death  of  Thorfinn  ;  but  when  Snorri 
married,  his  mother  took  a  voyage  to  Rome.  During  her 
absence  Snorri,  who  was  a  devout  Christian,  built  a  church 
at  Glaumbae.  After  her  return  from  Rome,  Gudride  remain 
ed  with  her  son  at  Glaumbae  for  awhile,  and  then  entered  a 
convent,  where  she  passed  the  remainder  of  her  life. 

The  next  voyage  to  Vinland  was  made  in  1011,  and 
from  this  time  voyages  thither  became  frequent.  In  1059  ^ 
is  said  that  an  Irish  priest  named  John  went  there  to  Christ 
ianize  the  natives  and  was  murdered  by  them,  while  Erik, 
called  the  first  bishop  of  Greenland,  is  also  said  to  have  sail 
ed  for  Vinland  in  1121. 

The  latest  account  is  of  a  voyage  to  Markland  in  1347 
by  a  ship  from  Greenland.  By  this  it  is  seen  that  inter 
course  with  Vinland  was  kept  up  until  the  middle  of  the 
fourteenth  century. 

This  brings  us  near  the  date  of  the  voyage  claimed  to 
have  been  made  to  the  Western  Continent  by  Nicolo  Zeno, 
in  1380.  The  Venetians  made  frequent  voyages  to  the 
North  of  Europe  at  this  time,  and  had  commercial  in 
tercourse  with  the  Scandinavians. 

On  the  famous  map,  made  after  his  return  by  Zeno,  and 
which  he  hung  up  in  his  palace  at  Venice,  a  map  which  has 
been  the  subject  of  much  curious  study  to  geographers  for 


EARLY    VOYAGES    TO    AMERICA. 


43 


centuries,  is  depicted  not  only  Greenland  and  the  Faros 
Isles,  but  the  coast  of  America.  This  map,  it  should  be  re 
membered,  was  in  existence  in  Venice  long  before  the  voy 
age  of  Columbus  was  undertaken. 


It  will  of  course  be  asked  why  the  Norse  did  not  per 
manently  colonize  the  new  world.  Large  colonies  could  not 
have  been  established  by  them  at  this  period,  and  if  small 
ones  were  established  it  is  probable  that  the  colonists  perish 
ed  or  amalgamated  with  the  natives,  for  about  the  year  1350, 
they  must  have  been  cut  off  entirely  from  the  Greenland 
Colonies. 

About  this  time,  the  pestilence  known  as  the  black 
death  raged  through  Europe  with  fatal  violence,  almost  de- 


44  RHODE    ISLAND    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

populating  vast  districts,  and  is  supposed  to  have  raged  in 
Greenland  and  greatly  diminished  its  scattered  population. 
It  is  known  to  have  been  most  fatal  at  Trondheim,  where  it 
was  introduced  by  an  English  ship,  and  this  port  held  the 
principal  trade  of  Greenland.  Intercourse  was  entirely  cut 
off  with  Greenland,  and  it  is  said  that  natives  attacked  the 
colony  in  1379  and  killed  eighteen  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Westbygd  and  carried  away  two  boys,  and  that  when  as 
sistance  went  from  Eastbygd,  not  a  human  being  was  found. 

Torfaeus  says,  that  no  attempt  was  made  to  regain 
Westbygd,  and  that  the  natives  or  Esquimaux  occupied  it  in 
peace.  The  Eastbygd  continued  to  exist  sometime  longer, 
and  some  intercourse  with  it  continued  through  the  1 5th 
century  when  it  ceased,  and  the  few  inhabitants  either  per 
ished  or  amalgamated  with  the  natives. 

The  records  which  have  been  preserved  of  the  voy 
ages  to  Vinland,  it  has  already  been  said,  were  discovered 
in  Iceland,  and  their  preservation  is  doubtless  due  to  the 
fact,  that  this  land  being  so  remote  from  the  church,  after 
Christianity  was  introduced  there,  such  records  were  permit 
ted  to  exist  by  the  native  priests,  who  were  of,  and  sympa 
thized  with  the  people  ;  while  in  countries  nearer  the  cen 
tral  power  of  the  Church  every  ancient  record  was  ruth 
lessly  destroyed. 

Anderson  says,  "for  ages  Iceland  was  destined  to  be 
come  the  sanctuary  and  preserver  of  the  grand  old  literature 
of  the  North.  Paganism  prevailed  there  more  than  a  cen 
tury  after  the  island  became  inhabited  ;  the  old  traditions 
were  cherished  and  committed  to  memory,  and  shortly  after 


EARLY     VOYAGES    TO     AMERICA.  45 

the  introduction  of  Christianity  the  Norse  Literature 
was  put  in  writing.  The  ancient  literature  and  traditions  of 
Iceland,  excel  anything  of  the  kind  in  Europe  during  the 
middle  ages.  The  original  Teutonic  life  lived  longer  and 
more  independently  in  Norway,  and  especially  in  Iceland, 
than  elsewhere,  and  had  more  favorable  opportunities  to 
grow  and  mature,  and  the  Icelandic  literature  is  the  full 
blown  flower  of  Teutonic  heathendom.  This  Teutonic 
heathendom,  with  its  beautiful  and  poetical  mythology,  was 
rooted  out  by  superstitious  priests  in  Germany  and  the  other 
countries  inhabited  by  Teutonic  peoples,  before  it  had  de 
veloped  sufficiently  to  produce  blossoms,  excepting  in  Eng 
land,  where  a  kindred  branch  of  the  Gothic  race  rose  to 
eminence  in  letters,  and  produced  the  Anglo  Saxon  litera 
ture.  "24 

It  is  to  be  noted,  that  in  the  account  of  the  voyage 
of  Thorfinn  it  is  said,  that  Gudride  after  the  death  of  her 
husband,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome.  Gudride  was  greatly 
interested  in  the  new  world,  having  attempted  a  voyage 
thither  with  her  first  husband,  and  afterwards  having  ac- 

o 

companied  her  second  husband,  Thorfinn,  thither,  and  she 
doubtless  related  her  experiences  at  the  Court  of  Rome. 

The  Pope  was  greatly  interested  in  learning  of  new 
lands,  which  he  could  add  to  his  jurisdiction,  and  he  took 
great  pains  to  collect  reports  and  charts  of  such  lands. 
Pontifical  documents,  the  contents  of  which  have  come  down 
to  our  times,  reveal  to  us  the  course  which  Christianity  pur 
sued  westward.  Thus  in  830,  Pope  Gregory  IV.  confirmed 
Auscarius  as  the  first  Archbishop  of  Hamburg.  In  860, 


46  RHODE    ISLAND    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

Pope  Nicholas  invested  him  as  his  legate,  with  jurisdiction 
"over  the  Swedes,  Danes  and  Slafs,  as  well  as  over  any 
other  nations  in  those  parts."  Eighty-eight  years  later,  Pope 
Agapetus  granted  similar  jurisdiction  to  Archbishop  Adal- 
garus  over  Swedes,  Danes  and  Norwegians.  In  1022,  Pope 
Benedict  VIII.  granted  the  same  over  Swedes,  Danes,  Nor 
wegians  and  Icelanders.  This  is  the  first  mention  of  Ice 
land  in  the  pontifical  documents.  Thirty-one  years  later, 
Pope  Leo  IX.  confirmed  these  powers  to  Archbishop  Adel- 
bert  over  Swedes,  Danes,  Norwegians,  Icelanders,  Lapland 
ers  and  over  Greenland^  This  is  the  first  mention  of  Green 
land  in  the  pontifical  documents,  while  we  learn  that  in  1121 
Erik  Upsi  was  granted  similar  powers  over  the  countries  be 
fore  mentioned,  and  in  addition,  Vinland.  It  is  said  that  in 
1 12 1  Erik  Upsi  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Iceland,  Greenland 
and  Vinland. 

It  is  also  acknowledged  that  Columbus  was  in  Iceland  in 
the  year  1477,  fifteen  years  before  the  discovery  of  America. 
The  most  remarkable  record  perhaps,  and  one  which  it  seems 
Columbus  must  have  seen,  since  he  was  a  student  and  eager 
to  obtain  knowledge  of  new  countries,  is  that  of  Adam  of 
Bremen,  who  died  in  the  year  1076.  His  book  on  the  "Pro 
pagation  of  the  Christian  Religion  in  the  North  of  Europe" 
was  published  in  1073  and  read  by  educated  men  through 
out  Europe. 

At  the  end  of  this  book  is  a  geographical  treatise  en 
titled,  "On  the  position  of  Denmark  and  other  regions  beyond 
Denmark,"  and  having  given  an  account  of  Denmark,  Sweden, 
Norway,  Iceland  and  Greenland,  the  author  says,  "  Besides 


EARLY    VOYAGES    TO    AMERICA.  47 

these,  there  is  still  another  region,  which  has  been  visited  by 
many,  lying  in  that  ocean,  which  is  called  Vinland,  because 
vines  grow  there  spontaneously,  producing  very  good  wine  ; 
corn  likewise  springs  up  there  without  being  sown,"  and 
"This  we  know  not  by  fabulous  conjecture,  but  from  positive 
statements  of  the  Danes.  '>26 


NOTES. 


1.  Vide  Athanasii    Kircheri   E.    Soc.    Jesti,  CEdipus  ^Egyptiacus. 
Romse,  MDCLII,  p.  421,  et  seq. 

2.  Vide    Enquiries    touching    the    Diversity    of  Languages  and 
Religions  through  the  Chief  Parts  of    the    World.     By   Edward   Brere- 
wood,  London,  MDCLXXIV,  p.  117. 

3.  Vide  Histoire   de  la  Nouvelle   France,    Par   Marc  Lescarbot. 
Paris,  1866,  Vol.1,  p.  23  et  seq. 

4.  Vide  Memoires  de  Litterature  Tires  des  Registres,  De   L' Aca 
demic  Royale  des  Inscriptions,   a  Paris,  MDCCLXI,  Vol.   28,   pp.  503- 
525. 

5.  It  is  perhaps  worth  while  to  state  that  in  the   audience   which 
listened  to  the  reading  of  this  paper  by  the  author,  at  Columbia  College 
in  1888,  was  Prince  Roland  Bonaparte,  who  was  attending  a  session  of  the 
Anthropological  Society.    At  the  close  of  the  reading,  the  Prince  greatly 
interested  those  present  by  drawing  with  considerable  facility  upon   the 
blackboard,  representations  of  symbolical  figures  with  which  he  had 
been  familiar  in  China  and  which  he  stated  he  had  been   surprised  to 
find  depicted  upon  ancient  monuments  in  Mexico.  From  this  he  inferred 
a  connection  at  some  period  in  the  past  between    the    people  of  China 
and  the  southwestern  shores  of  the  North  American  Continent. 

6.  See  these  depicted  in  Pre-historic  Races  of  the  United  States  of 
America.     By  J.  W.  Foster,  LL.  D.,  Chicago,  1874. 

7.  Vide  Ibid,  p.  97. 

8.  Vide  Monumenta  Germanise  Historica.  Edited  by  Henry  Pertz 
Hannoverae,  1846.  Though  written  as  stated  previous  to  1073,  the  work  of 
Adam  Von  Bremen  was  not  printed  until  1579. 

9.  Vide  The  Heimskringla,  or  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of  Norway, 
by  Snorro  Sturleson.     Translated  by  Samuel   Laing,  Esq.,  London,  1844. 
This  allusion  to  the  subject  is  as  follows: — "The  same  writer  was  Leif, 
the  son  of  Eric  the  Red,  with  King  Olaf,  in  good  repute,  and  embraced 
Christianity.     But  the  summer  that  Gissur  went  to  Iceland,  King  Olaf 


48  RHODE    ISLAND    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 


sent  Leif  to  Greenland,  in  order  to  make  known  Christianity  there.  He 
sailed  the  same  summer  to  Greenland.  He  found,  in  the  sea,  some  peo 
ple  on  a  wreck  and  helped  them;  the  same  time  discovered  he  Vinland 
the  good,  and  came  in  harvest  to  Greenland.  He  had  with  him  a  priest 
and  other  clerks,  and  went  to  dwell  at  Brattahlid  with  Erik,  his  father. 
Men  called  him  Leif  the  Lucky;  but  Erik,  his  father,  said  that  these  two 
things  went  one  against  the  other,  inasmuch  as  Leif  had  saved  the  crew 
of  the  ship,  but  brought  evil  men  to  Greenland,  namely  the  priests." 

10.  Vide  Historia   Vinlandiee  Antique,  etc.,  Per  Thormodum   Tor- 
fsBimi,  Hafnise,  1705. 

11.  Vide  Antiquitates  Americanse  Ediclit  Societas  Regia   Antiqua- 
riorium  Septentrionalum.     Studio  et  opera  Caroli   Christian!  Rafii,  Haf 
nise,  1845. 

12.  The    following    is   an   extract  from     a    letter  to  the   author 
from  Amos  Perry,  Esq.,  of  Providence,  Superintendent  of  the  Census  of 
Rhode   Island    in  1885.     "When   this   date  was  inserted,  I    had  before 
me  the  first    two    propositions   clearly  established,  and   the   following 
statement  from  Peter  Easton's  Diary  of  August  28,  1675:— "On  Saturday 
night,  forty  years  after  the  great  storm   in   1635,    came   much   the   like 
storm,  blew  down  our  wind  mill  and  did  much  harm."     I  knew  that  the 
mill  destroyed  was  built  of  wood    and   belonged   to   the   colonists,  and 
hence  was  called  onr  wind  mill,    while   Arnold  called   his    building  m-i/ 
stone  built  wind  mill.     The  former  erected  in  1663  by  the  colonists   was 
blown  down  about  the  last  of  August,  1675.     Of  the  latter,  I  believe  our 
first  information  is  derived  from  a  Record  of  the  Arnold    family,   dated 
July  13,  1677,  which  may  be  found   in    the   New    England   Genealogical 
Register,  1,  1879,  page  429.     An  inference  (not  however  conclusive)  may 
be  drawn  from  Easton's  language  and  the  condition   of  the   place,   that 
our  (i.  e.  the  colonists)  wind  mill  was  the  only  one  at  Newport  at  that 
date.     In  the  absence  of  information  on  this  point,  we  are   led   to   infer 
that  the  destruction  of_the  town  mill  gave  rise  to  the  Arnold  mill,  which 
in  that  case,  could  not  have  been  completed  before  1676,  though  the    in 
ferences  from  admitted  facts,  and  from  the    absence    of  positive   infor 
mation,  point  to  1676  as  the  date  of  the  erection  of  the  Stone  Mill." 

AMOS  PERRY, 
Superintendent  of  the  Census  of  1885. 

13.  Vide  Mourt's  Relation  edited  by  Henry  Martyn   Dexter,    Bos 
ton,  1865,  pp.  32-34. 

14.  We  are  indebted  for  the  cut  of  the  Dighton  Rock  here  shown 
to  the  kindness  of  Capt.  J.  W.  D.    Hall,  Secretary  of    the   Old  Colony 
Historical  Society,  Taunton,  Mass.     It  is  doubtless  the   best  deliniation 
of  this  celebrated  relic  which  has  yet  been  produced.  The  reader  should 
compare  it  with  those  made  by  Danforth  in  1680;  Cotton  Mather  in  1712; 
Greenwood  in  1730:  Sewall  in  1768:  Winthrop  in  1778;  Baylies  and  Good 
win  in  1790;  Kendall  in  1807:  Gardner  in  1812  and  the  Rhode  Island   His- 


EARLY    VOYAGES    TO    AMERICA.  49 

torical  Society  in  1830,  all  depicted  in  the  Antiquitates  Americanse  of 
Rafn  before  mentioned.  Dighton  Rock  is  now  in  possession  of  the 
above  society. 

15.  Vide  The  North  American  Review  for  1838,  pp.  161-203. 

16.  Vide  History  of  the  United  States.     By  George  Bancroft,  Bos 
ton,  1841,  Vol.  L,  p.  56. 

17.  Dicuil  in  De  Mensura  Orbis  Terras,  shows   that  the  Faroe  Is 
lands   were  known  to  the  Irish  as  early  as  725  and  Iceland  in  795.    Vide 
Antiquitanes  Americanae,  p.  204. 

18.  Vide  History  of  the  Voyages   and   Discoveries  made   in   the 
North,  by  John  Reinhold   Forster,   Dublin,    1786.     Also   History  of  the 
Northmen  and  Danes  and  Norsemen  from  the  Earliest  Times,   etc.     By 
Henry  Wheaton,  London,  1831. 

19.  For  an  excellent  translation  of  the  Sagas   reference   may  be 
made  to  Voyages  of  the  Northmen  to  America,  Prince  Society,   Boston, 
1877.     Edited  by  the  Reverend  Edmund  F.  Slaf ter,  A.  M. 

20.  In  going  to  the  ship  the  horse  which  he  had  mounted,    stum 
bled  causing  the  old  man  to  fall  off  and  bruise  his  foot,    which   discour 
aged  him  from  attempting  the  voyage. 

21.  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Webb,  secretary  of  the  Rhode  Island    Histori 
cal  Society,  in  Antiquitates  Americans,  p.  368. 

22.  Vide  Report   on  the  Geology  of  Massachusetts,  p.  96,  et  seq. 

23.  Vide   Documentary  History  of    the  State  of  Maine   by  J.  G. 
Kohl,  Portland,  1869,  Vol.  1.  p.  71. 

24.  Vide  An  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Discovery   of    America   by 
the  Norsemen,  by  Rasmus  B.  Anderson,  A.  M.,  Chicago,    1874,  p.    56,    et 
seq. 

25.  VideMigne's  Patrology  of  the  Latin  Fathers,  Vols.  119,  133,  139, 
143.  Archbishop  Adelbert  was  raised  to  the  see  of  Hamburg  in  1045  and 
died  in  1072.  Adam  of  Bremen  says  of  him,  that,  "he  was  so  gentle,  so 
generous,  so  hospitable,  so  desirous  of  divine  and   human   glory,    that 
little  Bremen,  having  become  known  by  his  virtue  like   another  Rome, 
was  devoutly  resorted  to  from  all  quarters  of  the  earth,  especially  from 
the  North.     Among    the    comers    were    Icelanders,    Greenlanders  and 
Arcadians,  who  came  to  ask    for    preachers.  "     Vide    Gesta  Pontificum 
Ecclesiae  Hamburgensis.    Book  III.,  ch.  33;  also  cf.  Book  IV.,  ch.  36. 

26.  Vide     Monumenta  Germanise    Historica,    edited    by  George 
Henry  Pertz,  Hannoverae,  1846.     Tome  VII.     The  following  is    perhaps 
nearer  the  original.     Adam  speaking  of  his  friend  and  patron  Adelbert 
says,  "  He  spoke  also  of  another  island  found  in  that  ocean  called  Win- 
huid,  because  vines  grow  there  spontaneously,  yielding  excellent  wine. 
For  that  fruit  grew  there    spontaneously    we    know    not    by   fabulous 
report,  but  for  certain,  from  the  reports  of  the  Danes.  " 


Gay  lord  Bros. 

Makers 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
PAT.  JAN.  21.  1908 


.  v  ^  i« 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


